After Abhorsen
by mordicant
Summary: This is what i think came after the book Abhorsen please give me your opinion on how you think this compairs to what you think comes afre abhorsen
1. Waking up

Disclaimer: blah blah I own no characters with the exception of Stoneburner, Varie, and Regnack. I own no place names... yet  
  
What came after Abhorsen...  
  
Lirael woke to soft candlelight a warm feather bead and silky sheets fantastically smooth under a heavy padded blanket. Polished mahogany wood panels gleamed in the light from a fire that burned brightly in a red brick fireplace. Moaning softly as she rose an abundance of pains awoke all across her body, she glanced around at her surroundings and guessed she must be at the Abhorsen's house but she had not the foggiest clue how she could have gotten there, her last memory was of slipping to the ground after the binding of Orannis and the death of Sam the Disreputable dog "dog" moaned Lirael tears swam in her eyes at the memory of her beloved companion, the room blurred but before she could burst into tears a sharp rapping at the door caused her to jerk upward, startled out of tears she composed herself enough to notice a lack of cloths about her person. Covering herself with the blanket she mumbled an uncertain "come in". "Ah Lirael your awake" said Sabriel "I hope I didn't wake you to soon" "no" mumbled Lirael yawning widely. "I see" laughed Sabriel "well I suppose you should get ready for dinner if you're feeling up to it", "mm Ok" groaned Lirael stretching her protesting muscles under the sheets "I'll bring in a sending with clean clothes and some soap" "thank you Sabriel" yawned Lriael again "You can start filling that if you want" said Sabriel motioning to a basin over which was a water tap embedded in the wall "but I'm sure the sending will insist on helping" with that and a grin Sabriel swept out of the room to fetch a sending. Wondering what was meant by that, Lriael carefully extracted herself from the bed and gingerly tip-toed across the cold tile floor to turn the handle on the tap, the stench that greeted her was unpleasantly sulfurous but she thought that was the price one had to pay for a constant supply of warm water, sighing she moved back to her bed and once she had relaxed she must have dozed off because she woke up to cold fingers poking at her sides. The fingers belonged to the sending that Sabriel had sent for, at the foot of the bed the sending had placed clean cloths a towel and some soap, when it was sure Lriael was sufficiently awake it glided or walked (however a sending moves) to the tap and twisted the tap off, grumbling Lriael reached for the towel and soap, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and wrapping the towel about her walked over to the basin. When she approached with the towel wrapped firmly about her and delicately touched the water with her toe, she found it pleasantly warm but before she could do anything with it the sending stepped forward whisked the towel off of Lriael and upended the whole basin on top of her. Lriael shrieked but the sending just replaced the basin under the tap turned the water on and started scrubbing her with the soap. To busy cursing the sending and being embarrassed Lriael did not hear the polite knock on the door and gasped in surprise when in walked Sabriel closely followed by a young man (Sameth). In response to Lriael's gasp of surprise Sabriel swung around and shoved the young man who was still innocently trying to enter the room back into the hall Lriael had noticed Sameth and seen he was carrying a small box but that was erased from her mind as the basin was again emptied over her head, when she could see properly again Lriael saw Sabriel laughing hysterically "what are you laughing at" she sputtered "well I suppose it is my fault but that's the same sending that washed me when I came here about your age" replied Sabriel between suppressed laughter "and more importantly you look darn funny" she said bursting into laughter again "Oh ha ha very funny Sabriel" "Yes it is funny, well the reason I'm here is because Sameth made something for you" "He did?" "Yes, he's had had plenty of time you've been asleep almost 13 days he can give it to you at dinner" "Is everyone ok?" "Yes, everyone present at the binding is ok and there here now if you want to talk to them, even Sameth's friend Nick is fine" "What! I thought he was dead" "So did I but he somehow got a late baptism that must have helped him not be swept pass the 9th gate then the disreputable dog must have somehow walked him back into his body" "Wait that means she's not dead!!" "Yes I know she must have walked into death before she died and because her physical body followed she could not pass the 9th gate, either that or the 7 just cant die completely. Anyway we will all be waiting for you at dinner" said Sabriel "Wait" hollered Lriael as Sabriel swept out of the room "how do you stop the sending" only a muffled "you cant" and more laughter greeted her ears. "Great" grumbled Lriael. After she had finished suffering the indignity of being washed by the sending she toweled herself dry having difficulty with only her one good arm, and changed into the cloths the sending had left at the end of the bed (again quite a feat with only one good arm) and left for dinner. 


	2. To Dinner!

Chapter2 To Dinner! When she was walking to the dining room she heard a crash in a room to her left, curious she opened the door and found another corridor a small distance down the hall she saw a young man she didn't recognize cursing as he tried to help a sending pick up a smashed plate and several sets of silverware as he straightened up he caught sight of her and she caught sight of a tight fitting wide red leather bracelet around his left wrist when he saw her he jumped and smiled as he said "Ah! Lriael if you need help finding the dining hall I would be happy to help you", "no thank you I know where to go" replied Lriael "but I heard the crash and wondered because sending's don't usually drop things and, well, who are you?" "Of course" said the young and fairly tall man "you wouldn't know me, you can call me Stoneburner and I suppose I should call you Malady Abhorsen In Waiting or mistress, but no mistress far to demeaning to my status as Stoneburner, do you mind if I call you Lriael?" "Not at all milord Stoneburner I would be honored to be addressed as such from one so high in rank as yourself" "I do believe I sense a trace of sarcasm in your tone Lriael and as I said Stoneburner is my rank so there's really no need for all the milord's and such" as he executed a flourishing bow the faint reek of free magic made itself known, it was not powerfully present but it was enough to notice, Lriael's head jerked about seeking the source and eventually settled on Stoneburner's red leather bracelet when he saw her pointed stare at the band on his left arm he sighed and answered the question still forming on her lips "only a little, the band is for containing not controlling not like Mogget's collar" still curious Lriael asked "so are you a free magic being like Mogget?" "Yes and no" he responded "free magic is not a part of my physical human form but if you were to look into death where I am standing you would see something resembling a..." he broke off because frost had begun to form on he face and icicles on her eyebrows. Yes Lriael had gone into death and what she saw was hedge, no it wasn't it looked like what hedge was before he passed the 9th gate but subtly deferent, more human than free magic, well now that she was nice and wary of this kind young man that appeared out of no ware she thought she should return to life and eat. "As I was saying until I was so rudely interrupted" smiled Stoneburner as he saw Lriael blink frost out of her eyes and start wiping icicles out of her hair, "the band only keeps the free magic in me contained in death until I call upon it in life so I don't start compulsively destroying anything charter related" Lriael suddenly felt very small and weak without her bells or sword not to mention hungry so she said "I really want to know more about you but I'm starving and dinners waiting so lets go" "yes" said Stoneburner "that's a good idea, lets go" "after you" replied Lriael and with a grin they set off to the dining hall. Upon entering the dining hall Lriael saw Sameth his parents and his sister standing in a corner exchanging polite frivolous conversation with nick and the two daughters of the Clayr Sanar and Ryelle. Over setting the table with food were sending's and a tall young woman who could be none other than Stoneburner's sister or even his twin not only was she tall like him with the same light brown blondish hair but she also wore the same kind of red leather bracelet and even she noticed had similar weapons it was almost hard to tell that Stoneburner was wearing the amount of weapons she now saw he was carrying on each hip was a rapier strapped sideways across the small of his back was a short sword and diagonally across his back hung a somewhat large broadsword, it was hung upside down so that his right hand could reach over to his left side instead of over his shoulder and partially concealed under a flap of buttoned down cloth was an assortment of throwing knives easily accessible. Lriael was appalled she had not noticed the wide variety of weapons Stoneburner carried until she had compared him to his sister he moved with such ease and grace with all the weapons that you could hardly tell that they were not just a part of him  
When they were noticed by the others conversation halted and everyone moved towards the table except for Sameth who hollered "Lriael! I made something for you" as he presented the small box to her she slid the lid off and found a golden hand crawling with charter marks, she jumped as someone very close behind her gasped in surprise, it was the young woman Lriael recognized as Stoneburner's sister. Taking the chance to compare Stoneburner and his sister side by side she saw that they were indeed dressed and armed very similarly, there height was identical and so was the color of there hair and eyes the girl was armed with two rapiers and a brace of throwing knives across her waist and an elaborately designed and decorated scimitar hung upside-down across her back like her brothers. Lriael's mind returned to the present as the young woman choked out a startled "that's Wallmaker material", oblivious to the distress of the woman Sameth continued "try it on Lriael it should work" "What do you mean by that?" asked Lriael "Just put it on you'll see" "Can you help me?" "Sure" Sameth helped roll Lriael's sleeve back and place the golden hand on her stub of a hand when it was on the hand seemed to contract around her and a strange warmth filled the new hand tingling at the fingertips, which she could suddenly feel she tried experimentally to move her fingers and they moved just like a real hand. She almost cried she was so overwhelmed with gratitude for what Sameth had done for her, she wrapped him up in a hug so fierce he almost choked "thank you Sameth" she whispered, "thank you". 


	3. Dinner conversation

Ch3 dinner conversation  
  
Sameth started turning blue so Lriael thought she should let go when Sameth was released he slumped to the floor gasping for breath as his face took on more of a semblance of normality Sameth stood and said "Well I suppose that means that you like it?" "Oh yes" replied Lriael "it's fantastic thank you" "Your very welcome, lets eat!" Lriael grinned at the bluntness of Sameth's statement and took a seat at the table. As she hungrily devoured the tender juicy halibut she thought about what was going to happen to her and everyone else. The clyer twins would of course return to there glacier but what about Stoneburner and his sister she knew nothing about them and how they had gotten here much less why they were here and how as the thought struck her the fork clattered noisily to her plate how had they gotten into the Abhorsen's home none but those of the blood should be able to be here she thought "wait a minuet!" she blurted "how can you be here? Stoneburner I mean, and Nicholas too! I thought only those with the blood could come here to the Abhorsen's house." The young woman snorted but at the young man on her left not at Lriael's outburst "Stoneburner? You told her to call you that!" "Yes and why not? It is my title" "Ancient history is what it is and I have equal right to that title so you cant just run around telling everyone that you're the one mighty Stoneburner" "very well" turning to Lirael he said "my name is Regnack and this is my cousin Varie" 


End file.
